TOKYO — Simple is better, at least as far as the design director at Uniqlo Co., Japan’s leading
fast-fashion retailer, is concerned.

Naoki Takizawa, who has been with the company since 2011, is enjoying success with his
straightforward designs for Uniqlo, which boasts 1,300 stores in 14 countries and territories and
has annual sales exceeding $8.5 billion.

Uniqlo’s casual lifestyle designs must appeal to people of all ages and nationalities, and be
suited to mass production — demands that make casual-wear design difficult, said Takizawa, whose
motto of “subtractive designs” means he reduces clothes to their simplest form.

“This process requires courage,” he said, “because it makes me worry if it’s all right to be
this simple.”

For example, for the 2014 spring-summer collection, Takizawa widened the cut of the V-neck for
women’s T-shirts to make women’s necks look longer and more beautiful.

When deciding on the colors, he conducted research in several countries to find hues that would
suit the skin colors of a variety of people.

Takizawa is a veteran designer who has shown his collections in Paris and other fashion
capitals. He designed Issey Miyake’s menswear in the 1990s, and from 1999 to 2006 he created its
women’s clothes, too.

When he was with Issey Miyake, Takizawa put more emphasis on “designs of addition” to compete
with luxury brands in Europe and the United States.

Even then, however, Takizawa was fond of casual clothes such as jeans and T-shirts.

“They’re durable, comfortable and liked by all generations,” he said. “These clothes can be
created by drawing on daily life. I want to design such ultimate casual clothes.”